Alan Cumming hopes to track down Tonka, his chimpanzee friend and co-star with whom he appeared in the 1997 comedy Buddy. Per PETA, Tonka’s whereabouts are currently unknown, with the chimp reported missing. Hoping to find Tonka, Cumming has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his Buddy co-star’s recovery. PETA, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has also offered $10,000, upping the total reward to $20,000.

Sadly, Tonka’s last known location is said to have been in a cage at a defunct breeding facility in Festus, Missouri, known as the Missouri Primate Foundation. Cumming had previously teamed up with PETA to call for Tonka’s release from the facility, which had been breeding chimpanzees to rent out for movies or private parties. PETA had sued the establishment over the chimpanzees’ living conditions and was granted permission to legally remove Tonka and six other chimpanzees to an accredited sanctuary. Tonka was apparently missing when PETA arrived in July 2021 to relocate the chimps.

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Cumming added, “During the months we filmed together, baby Tonka and I became good friends, playing and grooming each other and just generally larking about. It’s horrible to think he might in a cage in a dark basement somewhere or have met some other fate, so I’m appealing to whoever knows what has become of him to please come forward claim the reward.”

“If you know where Cumming’s former co-star may have been shipped, sold or hidden away, PETA wants to hear from you,” PETA’s Brittany Peet stated. “If he’s still alive, Tonka deserves to live out the rest of his days surrounded by chimpanzee friends at a lush sanctuary, as ordered by the court, and someone out there might be able to help PETA get him there.”

Alan Cumming and Tonka Co-Starred in Buddy

     Columbia Pictures

Released in 1997, Buddy was directed by Caroline Thompson and starred Rene Russo, Robbie Coltrane, and Alan Cumming. Based on a true story, the film follows the life of a gorilla when he joins a millionaire’s family along with the primate’s struggles to adapt to city life.

During filming, Cumming had grown close with Tonka, one of the chimpanzees who appear in Buddy. When he later learned of Tonka’s living conditions, Cumming had said he was “devastated,” noting that he was misled about the chimpanzee’s living conditions after filming wrapped. He had personally sent a plea to the Missouri Primate Foundation calling for Tonka to be released in 2017. You can read part of the letter below.

If you have any information about Tonka’s whereabouts, $20,000 can be yours. You can pass along that information by calling PETA at 757-622-PETA, or by submitting tips online at PETA.org/Tonka.

“I worked closely with him on the 1997 film Buddy. My character had many scenes with him, and we developed a very close camaraderie during the months when we filmed. By the end of the shoot, his trainers let him groom me. It was a special friendship—one I’ll always treasure. I hoped to see Tonka the following year at the film’s premiere but was told that he was no longer manageable and had been ‘retired to Palm Springs.’ Over the past 20 years, I imagined him living out his post-Hollywood years on a sprawling sanctuary.”